School Trustee Dorn Charged With Assault

MARINA DEL REY — Inglewood School Board Trustee William Dorn was charged with assaulting two Marina del Rey firefighters Monday night after they refused to let him help treat a friend who had been struck by a car.

Dorn declined to comment on the incident. Sheriff's spokesman Ken Sutherland gave this account:

Dorn, 46, a physician affiliated with Orthopaedic Hospital in Los Angeles, and Lisa Beth Bezar, 23, were crossing the 4000 block of Admiralty Way about 10:30 p.m. when a car swerved through the crosswalk, striking Dorn's friend.

When officials arrived, several firefighters and paramedics asked Dorn to step aside, but he refused. Dorn told them he was a doctor but had no identification to prove it.

Deputies said Dorn eventually retrieved identification from his car and threw the credentials at officials. Dorn then grabbed two firemen kneeling over the injured woman and yanked them out of the way, Sutherland said. Neither fireman was injured.

Sheriff's deputies took Dorn to the Marina del Rey sheriff's station where he was charged with misdemeanor battery of a firefighter. He was released Monday after signing a citation promising to appear in court.

Bezar was treated for a broken leg at Daniel Freeman Hospital in Marina del Rey.

The driver, John Martinez Jr., 27, was booked on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol.